License-plate holder



June 24 1924.

J. R. ZIPAY LICENSEA PLATE HOLDER Filed July 30 Patented' .lune 24,1924.

. yD sr l V.TOHN MPP ZIAY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA.

LICENSE-PLATE HOLDER.

Application led July 30, 1923. Serial No. 654,577.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, JOHN RAPP ZIPAY, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new anduseful Improvement in LicensesPlate Holders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tag holders, and

particularly to an improved holder for automobile license tags. It is anobject of the invention to provide a device of this character which issimple in construction, economical to manufacture, and highly efcient inoperation.

Special objects are to provideV a license tag holder so constructed asto. eifectively the license tag for suspending and gri holding the sameaganist bodily movement with respect to the holder, one which can bereadily actuated forattaching and detaching the tag but which isequipped with locking means to prevent unauthorized removal, oneequipped with locking means in a unique manner so as to obvia-tetampering, one which not only firmly grips the tag but also engages thesame to preclude rocking or pivotal movement of the tag afterattachment, one which oEers substantially no obscuring parts hiding theface of the tag, and one in which both the fastening means for the lockand the fastening means for anchoring the holder to its support arehidden within the interior of the tag holder and protected thereby.

These and other objects of the invention will more fully appear whentaken in conjunction with the following description an the appendedclaims.

In the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is an elevational view of thepreferred embodiment of the invention illustrating the license tag insuspended position; Fig. 2 a view corresponding to Fig. 1 with the frontplate unlocked from and swung away from the back plate; Fig. v3 a 'sideelevation of the arts shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the method ofattaching the holder to its supporting bracket; and Fig. 4 a verticalsectional view, with parts in elevation, taken substantially midway ofthe parts as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The holder comprises a back plate 1 and a front plate 2 pivotallyattached to the back plate by a suit. ble hinge such as indicated at 3,and the two plates correspond in shape and size throughout substantiallytheir entire extent as clearly shown in Fig. 1.

Located along the lowerv margin of the back platel 1 are a plurality ofspaced rojecting lugs 4, 4', 4, and spaced sliglitly` above these lugsare threaded recesses 5, 5. Intermediate the threaded recess 5, 5 is oneportion of a lock indicated at 6. This portion of the lock is mountedwithin a suitably formed recess 7 provided in the'back plate and isadapted to be held in place by means of fastening devices in the form ofscrews or stud bolts shown at 8, the lock part 6 referably fittingwithin the opening in the ack plate so that its surface lies flush withthe inner face of the plate.

Rigidly attached to the back plate and covering yhe several openingstherein is a block 9 having integrally formed therewith a yoke or loop10, the loop being adapted to receive the upper end of a supportingbracket 11 rigidly attached to a suitable portion of the vehicle, as byriveting indicated at 12. The back plate and block are attached to thebracket by means of screws 12 which project through openings providedtherefor, the heads of the screws lying flush with the inner face oftheback plate 1, and the threaded extremities thereof being adapted toengage with threaded openings in the upper end of the bracket, asclearly indicated in the drawings.

The front plate 2 is provided with a transversely extending groove 13disposed in its inner face adjacent its lower margin, and has alsoformed therein between the said groove and itslower edge a series of dspaced depressions 14, 14', and 14 these depressions being located so asto receive the projecting lugs4, 4 4, when the two plates arel moved toclosed position, as shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4. The front plate 2 is alsoequipped with three openings indicated at 15, 15 and 16. Each of theopenings 15, l5', has mounted therein a specially formed binding screw17. The screw 17 is provided with the customary slotted head 18, aninner threaded extremity 19, and an intermediate plain cylindricalportion 20, the portion 20 being adapted to lie within and fill theaperture while the inner spaced interiorly of the inner vface of theplate, so that after the screw has been inserted in operative position,as indicated at Fig. 3, the same can be rotated bodily within its 1n the-front plate, threaded extremity 19 is4 aperture without eausinfilongitudinal vement with respect to the iront plate.l 'llhe openings 15,15', however, are internally -threaded correspondingly to the threadedportion 19 so as to'prevent the screws from falling-out of the apertureswhen the front plate is moved toits open position, as shown in Fig. 2,while adording means for ready removal when desired. The inner threadedportions 19 of the screws are adapted to be received by the thredopenings 5, 5', in the back plate, and are adapted to serve as forcingmeans for selectively binding the two plates into irm contact andgripping relation with the license tag 21 when interposed between theplates.

'lhe tag 21 is positioned between the plates by passing the lugs 4l,4,4" throu h correspondingly spaced apertures forme at the upper marginof the tag, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, and the form of tag illustratedis equipped with the raised marginal strengthening rib .22 which isadapted to seat within the transverse groove 13 formed in the inner faceof the. plate 2.

Mounted within the opening 16 of the front plate is the remainingportion 6 of the lock device, this portion oi the lock being tted withinthe opening in the plate' and' anchored in place by fastening means 23similarly to the manner of mounting the lock portion 6, previouslydescribed, that is, 'the main body of the lock portion 6 lies vat theinner face of the plate.

Hush with the inner face of the plate 2 and the fastening means 23 arelocated entirely Otherwise than has been described, the details of thelock mechanism form no part of the presen-t invention, any convenientform of lock, provided it is mounted and attached in place in the mannerdescribed, falling within the contemplated scope of the invention,it'being understood that the lock portion t is equipped with the usualbolt 24C operatively engaging with suitably formed parts on the lockportion 7 and adapted to be actuated by a key insertable in the key slotshown at 25. l

The method of using the holder is obvious from the above description.The lock' mechanism being moved to unlocked condition, and the bindingscrews 17 being rotated so as to disengage their inner threaded endsfrom their cooperating apertures` in the back plate, the front plate maybe swung outwardly on its hinge 3 so as to separate the plates. Therelative position of the two plates when separated is clearly shown bthe full lines in Fig. 2 and by the dotted lines shown in Fig. 4. Withthe plates thus separated, the holder may be attached to its supportingbracket 11 by projecting the upper end of the bracket within the openingformed by the loop 10, the screws 12 being rted to bind the p in plane.

nceaeoi 'lhe license tag may then be placed, as shown in Fig. 2, withthe lugs d, a, 4J",

projecting through the lug-receiving apertures formed therein, afterwhich the front plate 2 is swung downwardly,`and the binding screws 17rotated so as to bind the two key, in obvious manner, so as to maintain`the parts in operative position. v

lt is noted that the fastening screws. 12 for attaching the holder toits supporting bracket, as well as both sets of fastenmg means 8 and 23for anchorin the lock mechanism to the plates, are isposed in suchposition as to be entirely hidden when the plates are closed, and areactuable only from the inner faces of the plates. llt 1s thus obviousthat after the plates have been moved to their closed position, all oithe fastening means are not only hidden from view but are inaccessible,and thus obviate any possibility of unauthorized tampering with theseparts.

' llt is also noted that the arrangement ol the lugs on the back platewith the a ertures in the license tag precludes any bodi y rockinmovement with respect to the holder, 1n adition to firmly holding thelicense tag in suspended condition by means of the binding actionbetween the two plates. Both the lock mechanism and the binding screwsfor forcing the plates into intimate contact are located above the upperedge of the tag, so that a very small area of the tag'is covered by theholder thus producing substantially no obscuring of the tag itself.

While the holder has been illustrated and described in a form speciallyadapted for suspending a license tag equipped with a raised marginal ribsuch as shown at 22, it is obvious that the holder is equally adaptedfor suspending plain tags not having such strengthening ribs, in which-case bodily rocking movement is prevented by the engagement of the lugsof the back plate with Y the spirit of the invention, and it istherefore not intended `to limit the invention beyond that particularlydeiined by the ap-v pended claims.

lt claim:

1. An automobile license tag holder comprising a back plate, a irontplate pivotally supportedv thereon, means on one of said roe llt?

' neeaeci plates adapted to engage a license tag interposed therebetweenfor positively holding the same against pivotal movement with respect tothe holder, and means for' binding the two plates intointimat'e'gripping contact with the said ta l 2. An automobile icensetag holder comprising a back plate, a front plate pivotally supportedthereon, spaced lugs on one of the saidv plates, the remaining platebeing provided with depressions for receivng the said lugs, and meansfor binding the two plates into intimate gripping relation with aninterposed tag. l

3. vAn automobile license tag holder-comprising a back plate, a frontplate pivotally supported thereon, the inner face of said front platehaving a vgroove and a series ofdepressions formed therein, the innerface of said back plate having a series of lugs pro'ecting therefromcooperating with the sai depressions, means for selectively forcing thetwo platestowards each other, and means for locking the plates 'againstunauthorized actuation.

4. An automobile license tag holder come prising a back plate, a frontplate pivotally l supported thereon, the inner facel of the fronti-platehaving a groove formed therein, said nt plate' havin a recess, a lockmounted in. said recess, astening means for anchoring the lock disposedand actuable only from the inner face of the plate, and

from the inner face thereof.

5. An automobile license tag holder comprising a back plate, a frontplate pivotally supported thereon, the inner face ofA the front platehaving a groove and a series of depressions formed therein, the backplate having a series of inwardly projecting -lugs cooperating with saiddepress1ons,'said front plate having a recess, a lock having its bodymounted in said recess, fastening means for anchoring the 'lock disposedand actuable only from the inner face of the plate, means for securingthe holder to a supportin bracket mounted within the back plate anactuable only from the inner face thereof, and lmeans for selectivelyforcing the two plates towards each other, b'oth sa1d forcing means andsaid lock being spaced to one side of the said groove, depressions, andlugs.

6. An automobile license tag holder comprising a back plate, a -frbntplate attached thereto, means adapted to enga e a license tag interposedtherebetween'for' ocking the same against the plates 'an means forforcing the said plates into binding contact with the said tag.

v In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

JOHN Rare ZIPAY. v

Witness:

e EDWIN O. JOHNS.

ivotal movement relative to

